Is it a contradiction to reward yourself for reaching thrifty/frugal goals with material goods? I really want a "scooba" -- it's a robotic floor cleaner by the "roomba" folks. It sweeps and mops your floor all by itself. I've been enamored with it ever since I first heard of it a few years ago (when a student I tutor was assigned to write advertising copy for it as a school project). My kitchen floor gets quite dirty with pet food and pets and people coming in and out from the yard. The idea of waking up each morning to a sparkling floor (without my doing any mopping) is very alluring. It costs around $400, which is an expense I cannot justify while in debt (because I'm perfectly capable of mopping my own floor every night, it's just tedious).
So my plan is to buy one when I have paid off my credit card. I'm not going to buy it with my credit card, but it costs a bit less than what I pay towards paying off my credit card each month (target pay off date is December 2011). So instead of charging it now, while I have plenty of available credit (that's what the old me would have done), I'm going to pay cash for it later, when my credit card is paid off (new me).
Is it weird to reward myself for breaking with consumerism with a consumer good? Is it even breaking with consumerism if I buy something? I don't know. How about you, DS readers? Do you reward yourself when you meet a frugal goal? If so, how? Or is reaching the goal reward enough?
